


Won’t Say, Don’t Say (I’m Falling in Love)

by Firekitten



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 07:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17618198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firekitten/pseuds/Firekitten
Summary: A bitter loner and a hopeless romantic walk into a bar one night… and you all know how this joke ends, don’t you? [Modern AU]





	Won’t Say, Don’t Say (I’m Falling in Love)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FoxyPrince](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyPrince/gifts).



The bumping sounds of bass spilled out the door of the dance club as it was opened and then closed with the admittance of another patron, moving the rest of those waiting in line another blissful inch. Tai stepped forward, grateful they were almost to the front. He rocked on his heels to alleviate some of the ache in his knees, looking down when he felt Summer latch onto his arm. She had probably spent an hour in front of the mirror, each bit of her make-up so immaculately placed, with glitter accents around her eyes that would sparkle under the colored lights once they hit the floor. She was definitely dressed to impress tonight.

“Ooh, I can’t wait for you to meet them!”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was probably the fifth time he’s heard that since he’d agreed to join her.  “Don’t get too excited Sums. I came along to have fun, not find a date.”

“Yeah, you say that, buuuut-” She trailed off, letting the rest of the sentence hang.

“Hey, I’ve been getting better!” He argued, tucking his face in his collar.

“To get better, you need to actually  _date_ someone Tai. Not avoid dating entirely. That’s called ‘ignoring the problem.’.”

“I’m not ignoring it. I’m just… taking a break!”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Tai sighed. He knew there really wasn’t any use in arguing. He was pretty sure there was some unwritten universal law that if you knew a person for more than fifteen years, it was impossible to lie to them. Or maybe he just couldn’t lie to the one girl that he introduced himself to by placing a crown of dandelions on her head while declaring her as his ‘forever flower princess’. She responded to such an honest declaration of love in the way any eight-year-old should: By calling him a stupid dum-dum and throwing sand in his face.

They’d been best friends ever since.

Of course, having such an honorary place in his life also meant that she got to watch from a front row seat whenever he got his heart broken. Almost like a true movie-goer, the first few times she saw the story play out, her heart-strings tugged at his every struggle and pain. By the  _tenth_  time, she was yelling at the screen for him to stop making the same stupid decisions before the first scene was even over. Eventually, those criticisms and his aching chest got through to him, and he decided to just stop performing altogether.

He had a suspicion that because the screen had stayed black for more than a year now, his biggest fan had grown bored with the lack of entertainment. Why else would she try to turn herself into a director?

“I’m just saying, if you meet someone you like, you should give it a chance.” She jabbed her elbow into his side. “I know you miss being someone’s prince.”

He nudged her back, but her smile was too infectious not to catch. “Oh, shut up.”

“You know you love me.” She said. A buzzing drew her attention and she pulled out her phone from her handbag. Tai’s assumptions that it was her girlfriend was proven right when Summer announced, “Raven said they’re at the corner of the bar when we get inside.”

Just in time too, because they were next in line. After being carded and screened, they were allowed inside. It was like walking from night into day, the air turning from brisk and breezy to heavy and hot within seconds of entering the club, the ground under his feet seeming to shake with every beat of the rhythm blasting from the speakers. Tai had to blink away spots as he adjusted to the flashing lights.

Summer stood on her tiptoes, scoping out the room. “Oh, I see them!” She tugged him along as she weaved around the crowd and straight towards a pair sitting at the quieter end of the bar. His eyes were drawn to the female of the two, impressed by the wild, black hair cascading down her back. “Rae!”

And it was she who turned to that call, giving him his first good look at the mysterious girlfriend he’d been hearing about for weeks. She was as stunning as Summer had gushed over, her facial features a perfect contrast of sharp in the nose and chin, yet delicate in the pale moonlit white of her skin and eyes red like gemstones. He may have even thought her dangerous, if not for the way her lips eased into a welcoming smile.

Summer unlatched herself from him, skirting the last few feet forward and right into her arms. And then she leaned up and – okay yeah, he didn’t need to watch his admittedly gorgeous friend kissing an equally gorgeous woman. It probably wasn’t good for his health.

Taiyang avoided it by focusing on the second half of the pair, whom was now leaning back against the counter. As he met dusky red eyes, he swore he heard his mind screech to a halt.

For if there was ever a person that perfectly defined both strikingly handsome and breathtakingly beautiful, that was Qrow Branwen. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what made him so, other than to say _all of him_. From slicked back, coal-dark hair to the hint of stubble that accented an angled jawline or the too-tight dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing just enough to tease, to the long legs that **couldn’t** tease their flexibility, every bit of him seemed to just be another something to appreciate. He was like a puzzle; the pieces alone didn’t seem like much, but when put together the correct way it became a work of art.

Qrow shot him an easygoing smile, tilting his half-full glass as a greeting wave. "Hey, you must be Tai."

Dear gods, and a voice that sounded like it was constantly wrecked by sex. That was just _not_ fair.

He swallowed hard against his suddenly dry throat. “Yeah. And you’re Qrow. Hey.” He tacked on lamely. What a night to lose his charisma.

Thankfully, he wasn’t left to flounder long as Raven spoke up, “And I’m Raven. Charmed, really.” Her arms made a loose circle around Summer’s waist, tugging her close. “So, now that we’re all acquainted: Drinks or dance floor?”

Knowing there was no way in hell he was getting on the floor without being at least semi-drunk, Tai quickly offered, “I vote drinks” just as Summer said, “I want to dance!”

Qrow gestured to his own glass as a sign of his own opinion.

Raven shrugged, slipping off her bar stool. “Guess we’re splitting up then.” She pulled off the leather jacket, tossing it over her brother’s head. “Be a good coat rack and hold that for me.”

He yanked it off, saying irritably, “Three songs and then we’re switching.”

“We’ll see.”

As they bickered, Summer turned to him, the glitter around her face only accenting her puppy-dog gaze as she held her girly handbag towards him. “Please?”

Tai rolled his eyes, hooking his fingers around the strap. “Go have fun.”

“You’re the best!” She beamed, before following after Raven, walking so close they practically melded at the hip.

In the wake of their departure, the appointed coat rack tipped his head towards the now empty bar stool, in which the appointed purse hook gratefully took.

Qrow swung himself around, flagging down the bartender as he asked him, “So, what’s your taste?”

It took Tai a moment to realize he meant for alcohol. “Oh, uh, Four Roses, if they have it.”

A whistle. “A bourbon man, huh? Didn’t take ya for the type.”

“Didn’t used to be. I tried it on a dare. Just ended up liking it.”

“Wonder who that was.” The way he said that implied Qrow knew exactly who had been the instigator. He lent towards him. “Hey, can I dare you to try another?”

Tai met his gaze, not sure what to make of the almost mischievous grin gracing those pretty features. “Uh, like?”

“What’ll ya have boys?”

Qrow winked at him, before turning to the bartender. “I’ll take another double of scotch, on the rocks. My friend here’ll have some Old Crow, nice and neat.”

Tai could immediately catch the bourbon’s scent the moment it was placed in front of him. It smelled almost sweet, more like a fancy martini, than the bitter, burning whiskey he was imagining. Entirely aware of the eyes watching his every movement, he lifted his glass and took the first, brave sip.

And, it was…

Huh.

He lowered the glass, mildly confused. Why did it taste like lightly buttered toast?

Beside him, Qrow had dissolved into laughter, restrained but lively. “It’s weird, right?”

“Not really what I was expecting.” He took another sip, adjusting to the flavor. He’d had better, but for a bottom shelf drink, it wasn’t bad. It had that tame, moderate sort of kick he’d grown to enjoy. “It’s fine enough to drink.”

That mischievous smile was back. “Oh good. Because you’ll be drinking a lot of crow tonight.”

Tai choked on air. “ _E-Excuse me?!_ ”

Qrow pounded at the counter, howling with laughter. “You should see your face! Man, that was one of my best lines!”

He sighed, setting his glass down with a decisive thud. Even at only twenty-five, he was too old for this game. “Alright, are you flirting with me or messing with me?”

He held his forefinger and thumb a millimeter apart, “Lil’ bit of both,” before reaching out for his drink.

Tai watched him drown it, asking, “Why?”

A second thud as another glass hit the counter, ice cubes cackling together. “Did you know every time I walked into the room, you just conveniently became the hot topic of conversation?” Qrow finally looked to him, raising an eyebrow. “Summer’s not exactly subtle.”

“Oh Gods.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing the ground would just open up underneath him and portal him straight to Hell. “I’m sorry. She means well. She’s just got it in her head that I’m lonely.”

“Bet it came with a bunch of ‘You’re not getting any younger’ and ‘Love is worth the risk’ speeches, right?”

He groaned. “Yep. Guess the pain’s mutual, huh?”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Honestly, it was more a change of pace. No one has ever felt they needed to play Cupid for me. I mean, of course not. When you look this good, the romance comes to you.” He gestured grandly to himself, and had Tai not been practically drooling at his feet not ten minutes ago, he might have called him out on his ego. Qrow spared him another wink. “To be frank, you don’t look like you need it either.”

_Oh._ Tai felt his face flame up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks.”

His smile went from coy to relaxed. “To also be frank, I’m not looking for a commitment and from your response, I don’t think you really are either. I _am_  however hoping to have a good time tonight and if I can do that with a sexy guy, all the more reason. So, what say we get drunk off our asses, make fools of ourselves on the dance floor and call it a night?”

It was amazing just how much that simple suggestion eased the tension out of him. He grinned back at him. “I say let’s do it.”

“Alright, then. Cheers!”

The clink of their glasses sealed the promise, and as Tai chugged his drink, he figured the night might just be looking up after all.

* * *

It was probably their fourth round on the dance floor and it was practically sweltering. He could feel sweat clinging to him, head spinning with a wonderful dizziness. Qrow was a better sight; his hair had fallen into a mess at some point, bangs plastered attractively along his forehead, and he’d undone a few more buttons of his shirt, revealing a bit more of those nicely defined pecs. Watching him move to the beat, Tai couldn’t figure out if the floor was so hot because of how many people were around him, or if it was simply because Qrow was on it.

Wait, that was a good one!

He caught his fingers into his dance partner’s belt loops, yanking him in close. He had to lean into his ear, just so he could hear him. “Hey, got something to tell ya!” 

“Yeah?” Qrow slurred back, slinging his arms up around his neck. The sudden closeness had broken their rhythm, just leaving them to sway together.

Tai searched his brain, trying to remember. What was it exactly? Oh, Right!  “You’re pretty.” He nestled himself into his shoulder, hiding his goofy grin against the other’s neck. Fingers ran through his hair, petting him in soothing motions that made his eyes flutter shut.

So nice.

Qrow was nice.

He liked him.

He wanted to dance with him forever.

“Hey. Listen.” Qrow’s lips touched against his ear, creating happy tingles that rushed down his spine. “This song’s for us.”

Tai did his best to focus as commanded, a few of the lyrics drifting around them becoming startlingly clear.

_“What are the chances that we’d end up dancing?_

_Like two in a million, like once in a life.”_

The music lifted away, the words becoming inaudible. He lifted his head, trying to follow their retreat, but his head was heavier then he remembered, and he had to rest it again – this time with his forehead laying against Qrow’s own. The magic of them staring into one another’s eyes brought the song back.

_“Is it love? Is it fate?_

_Where it leads, who can say?_

_Maybe you and I were meant to be.”_

Qrow laced his fingers around the back of Tai’s neck, tilting just enough that their lips brushed together. A second later, he tried again, kissing him with more earnest.

_Whoa, too fast! Too fast!_ His brain jittered in alarm.

The sweep of a tongue along his lips halted the warnings altogether.

_…Ah, screw it._

Tai tangled his own hands into Qrow’s hair, opening his mouth to him. Their tongues took the place of their feet, dancing together to the music of their souls. Every breath between them harmonized, every nerve on their bodies sang, every beat of their hearts rose up, up, up to the crescendo without ever needing to fall.

He really wanted to dance with him forever.

It wasn’t meant to be. Qrow broke back first with a gasp, stumbling into him despite the fact they were not moving. “Got to sit. You’re giving me a fever.”

“’Kay.” Tai obliged, tugging him along by his waist as they bumbled about the crowd. It could have been seconds or minutes before they saw the line of the bar again.

His partner continued to cling to him, head lolling against his arm. “Like you. You’re built like a tree.”

The words tumbled out without thought, “Perfect for you to perch on.”

Qrow laughed loudly. He reached out to pat his shoulder, missed, and hit his collarbone instead. “Sunshine, you are so getting my number.”

_Number of what?_ Tai pondered as the night faded to a blur.

He woke up at home, headache pounding behind his eyes and muscles aching from the night.

On his phone was a single text from an unknown sender, a possibility in the words:

_Call me soon, Sunshine._

* * *

As Qrow added creamer to the two cups of coffee, the sound of songbirds made him look back towards the kitchen table. His phone had lit up with a new notification, but that wasn’t his ringtone. He glanced at the obvious culprit. “Did you  _really_?” He asked.

“Whatever do you mean, dear brother?” Raven said, looking just a little too smug not to be guilty.

He shook his head, trying to hide his own amusement. He didn’t understand how she kept figuring out his password. At least it was tamer then the death metal she had chosen last time. He stored the creamer back into the fridge, and as he set her cup down in front of her, said, “You know, if you ever decide to use your powers for evil, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

“I’m shocked and appalled that you don’t already consider me as such.”

“Pff, whatever.” He plopped down beside her, taking a drink of his own coffee as he reached for his phone, absently wondering if it would be a joke or just a peppy hello today. Qrow didn’t usually like the clingy ones, but somehow, it was hard to be annoyed with Tai about it. It was like getting mad at a puppy.

So used to their routine that had built over the past two months, he was caught off guard by his disappointment when he realized it was Kimi instead.

_Hey babe ;) Looking for a good time tonight?_

He hesitated.

For a moment.

And then typed back a reply. _Your place or mine?_

He dropped the device back to the table, trying to drown the unexpected twisting in his stomach with half a mugful of coffee. Nothing could soothe the burn of Raven’s eyes on him though. “What?” He asked tersely.

“Oh, nothing.” She replied, taking a sip from her own flower-patterned cup. He thought that would be it. “Summer told me something interesting about your new boytoy.”

He really should have known better by now not to hope for things. “Yeah? What about him?”

“He’s apparently a hopeless romantic.” She gestured between them, the sudden singing birds from his phone accentuating the motion as she mimed a rainbow. “Disney-Level hopeless.”

“So? Tai knows I’m not in it for the long game.”

“Does he now?” Before he could react, Raven’s hand struck out like a viper, snatching up his phone. “Then I guess you won’t mind if I tell him you’ll be busy hooking-up with someone else tonight.”

“What-” Qrow lurched after it, trying to wrestle it from her grasp, spewing obscenities all the while, “Fucking – god damn – Raven cut it the hell out!”

He got a grip on her arm, but as he made a grab for his phone, she caught his wrist, twisting it back. As he ceded in pain, Raven spoke sharply over his whimpers, “If you’re this scared about it, then why do it at all?”

He spit back in her face, “Don’t act like some fucking saint Rae. You used to be worse than me.” Another hiss escaped between his teeth when her nails dug into his skin, but it would take more than that for him to back down. “I’m not dumb. You don’t care about me. You’re only acting like this because you know if I break his heart, it could mess things up with you and Summer.”

“Well.” Her grip finally relented. “You’re half-right at least.”

He took the opportunity to yank his phone from her. Wanting nothing more than to get as far away from her as possible, he wrenched himself from his seat, intent on sealing himself away in his room for a few hours.

He didn’t even get to the living room before there was a scrap of another chair being shoved back. “Qrow?” She called after him. The temptation to ignore her was strong, and he would have, had she not added, “You were half-wrong too. I do care about you.”

Qrow stopped, frowning down at the water stains that warped the wood floor of their cheap apartment, before finally looking back at her. It was odd, seeing Raven look so kind, so soft. When had she changed so much? Or maybe he was the one who hadn’t changed enough.

“I get it you know.” She stepped towards him. “What our parents did, it hurt me too.”

He crossed his arms, avoiding her gaze. “At least you didn’t get thrown out twice.”

Raven would sometimes still joke about how, with the way they grew up, they could have been the poster children for television’s next big family drama series. Their parents argued about everything, sometimes getting so heated they’d scream at the top of their lungs. Once, cops even showed up at their house, having been called out by a concerned neighbor. He remembered that night with more clarity then he liked. What had spurred that argument had been one about Raven.

It hadn’t been anything major – she had bit another kid at school and got sent to the principal, who then informed their parents of the incident. Pretty typical stuff, and other than some detention, she wasn’t really in trouble. But at eight, he couldn’t understand that. He thought the police were there to take his sister away. They had both been so terrified about losing the one person that made their home bearable, they had jumped out the window and climbed up the oak tree in the backyard. The deputy only found them because they thought cawing like the birds they were named after would throw him off from their hiding spot.

That night was only a precursor to what would come when, at ten, their parents finally divorced and split them as if they were just another asset, a bunch of knickknacks to be bargained for. Not their own _children_. Children who begged and cried to be allowed to stay together. Children who knew being separated would hurt in a way they couldn’t bear.

They might as well never have said a word for all the nothing it changed.

Four years they spent apart, until their father decided he was done with that title and signed away his custody rights, kicking his own son to the curb like unwanted trash. It should have been a relief, walking back through the front door of his childhood home. But it was already too late. The damage was done. To him and Raven, they had been taught the meaning of love was a nightmare and they wanted no part in it.

For Qrow, that meant he spent his time throwing himself into meaningless flings and short-term relationships that eventually dead-ended. When things started to get too serious, he bolted or self-sabotaged his way out. Because if his parents had only ever taught him how to fail, how could he ever do any better?

The brush of Raven’s hand on his arm brushed away the memories. He fully turned to face her, seeing his reflection in her, but it was cracking in spots. No longer a perfect mirror. No longer the same.

“Look, I’m glad that this commitment thing is working out for you. Proud of you, even, that you’re getting past it.” Qrow sighed. “But I can’t. I told myself I was never going to let anyone make me feel rejected like that again. So, I won’t.”

She shook her head. “You’re hiding behind excuses, Qrow, and you know it.”

Chirping made them both looked down. A new message had popped up above Kimi’s invitation.

_G’morning babe! Do you have the night off? Maybe we could catch a movie?_

Qrow could almost laugh at how simple it would be. How he could just lie and jump into bed with someone else. To start calling off plans, avoid messages and calls, until Tai got tired of it and walked away from a relationship that would never go anywhere. How easy it was to break someone else’s heart and never risk his own.

As if she could see the dilemma running through his head, Raven reached out, blocking out the screen with her hand. “Listen, I’m not going to stand here and tell you that if you give it a chance, it’ll all just work out in the end. When things fall apart, it _hurts_. But I will tell you for all the bad that could happen, the good that does is what makes it worth it.” She looked away, lips quirking up in a gentle smile. “You haven’t let yourself fall in love, so you don’t know, but when it’s real, you’ll want to fight for it with everything you have.”

Wait. She couldn’t actually mean-?

The realization hit him like a train. When had things gotten that serious? “You’re… falling in love with Summer, aren’t you?”

That soft look was back. The immovable stone wall he used to see his sister as was crumbling, the dust of the destruction blowing away in the happy laugh that escaped her. “I, yeah. I am. I’m not sure where things are going to go for us from here, but I am sure I want to see it through with her. And I know how hard it was for me to get this far. Giving her that much of myself, it’s scary. I can’t ask you to do the same.” She gave his arm a solid pat. “But if I can’t ask that, then I am going to be selfish and ask you to break it off with Tai honestly. For me.”

He shut his eyes, heaving a sigh against the weight that had settled on his chest. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

As she walked back into the kitchen, Qrow called after her this time, “Hey, Rae?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s really that good?”

She peered at him over her shoulder, a knowing gleam in her eye. “Let me put it this way: Love and Nirvana work the same way. To find it, first you need to take a leap of faith.”

Those words stuck with him, repeating in his mind as he sat on his bed, thumb hovering between the two messages.

“A leap, huh?” He whispered to himself.

He swiped across the screen and typed a reply:

_Sorry, can’t tonight. Maybe another time?_

Now if only he could be brave enough to jump.

* * *

Qrow walked down the sidewalk, hands stuffed in his pockets to hide from the evening wind’s late-night chill. As he approached the front door, the streetlamps combating the overhead lights from the building split his shadow in two, one forever reaching the direction he could have gone as the other stretched before him.

He followed its guide, pulling open the door and walking into the warmth of the cinema. Above the noise of popping popcorn and the vibrant tunes of arcade games, he heard a faint call of his name.

“Qrow!” Tai waved as he strode towards him, grinning brightly.

He was smiling before he even realized he was, meeting Tai halfway. “Hey Sunshine.” He said, wrapping him up in an embrace and kissing him chastely. “Got the tickets?”

“Yep. We’ve still got some time to get snacks too.”

Never one to pass up an opportunity to gorge himself on sodium and cholesterol, they got some popcorn and soda before heading in to the theater. They bantered over where the best place to sit was – all arguments suspiciously stopping when Qrow mentioned if they sat in the back, they could just make-out if the movie ended up being terrible. They got settled in, mostly ignoring the pre-commercials in favor of each other, Tai telling him about the racer he was getting to build at the machine shop while Qrow made him laugh as he recounted his run-in at the gun range with a rather stiff-lipped upper classman whose prosthetic arm just fell off while shooting.

“And so, he turns to me, right? And says ‘Little help’? And I was so taken aback by what had happened, I didn’t know what to do! So, I said: ‘Buddy, there are a lot of hands I can give you. That ain’t one of them.’ And then I just walked away like a total jackass!”

Tai held his stomach, saying between his hearty guffaws, “Nooo, you didn’t! That’s terrible!”

“I know.” Qrow ran a hand over his face, embarrassment making his cheeks redden. “It was the _worst_.”

“Nah, what’s the worst is that you missed the opportunity to make the best joke of all,” He was grinning hard enough to clear a manure field. “‘Well, that’s one way to _disarm_ yourself.’”

“ **No!** That’s awful!” He cried, throwing popcorn in the blond’s face as they dissolved into laughter. Qrow was still struggling to get ahold of himself when he felt the solidity of a strong arm coming around his shoulders, Tai dropping an affectionate kiss against his temple. That arm stayed there long after the lights had dimmed and the real previews got going. He snuggled back into the comforting hold, trading off mini-reviews with Tai as each trailer ran through until the last one finally came to an end and the room became completely dark.

As the movie logo started to scroll across the screen, Tai lent over, murmuring, “Hey. I’m really glad you’re here.”

Qrow froze, warning sirens going off in his head. _Get out! Get out now!_

The brush of warm fingers along his cheek silenced them completely.

His heart took the chance to skip closer to the edge. _Stay, stay, stay,_ it beat.

Qrow caught Tai’s hand with his own, pressing his lips to his knuckles. He then turned to him, staring into eyes so deep blue he could easily fall forever in them, and whispered back in earnest, “Glad you’re here too.”

Tai closed the distance between them. As they kissed, Qrow found he still wasn’t quite ready to leap the rest of the way.

But he was closer then he’d ever been before.

And maybe, whether it be tomorrow or next year, he wouldn’t just leap.

He’d soar.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the title is absolutely a reference to Disney’s Hercules. 
> 
> I've actually had this idea filed away for a bit, but finally wrote it for the prompts "Dance" and "Trust" given by FoxyPrincess/Meek-Minded-Masochist in what was supposed to be a drabble exchange between us.
> 
> Ha. Drabble. As if I know the meaning of words.
> 
> Few other notes: The song playing when Tai and Qrow are on the dance floor is “Chances” by Backstreet Boys. I heard it on the way to work and got super excited to add it in because it was just too perfect.
> 
> Kimi is supposed to be that one waitress in volume 4 that flirts with Qrow. Her voice actresses’ first name is Kim. And yes, the guy who lost his prosthetic arm at the gun range was indeed our dear General James Ironwood.


End file.
